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Britain’s highest-ranking Catholic leader, Keith O’Brien, has resigned and removed himself from the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope, saying he did not want allegations that he engaged in improper conduct with priests to be a distraction during the solemn process of choosing the next leader of the church’s 1.2 billion-member flock. It was the first time a cardinal has recused himself because of personal scandal, historians said.

Associated Press

On the eve of meetings about Iran’s nuclear future, negotiators representing Iran and six leading industrial powers agreed they have little new to say, although it has been eight months since they last met. In the past week, US and Iranian officials alike have insisted that the onus is on the other side to make concessions that could lead to a nuclear deal.

The Washington Post

Dominique Strauss-Kahn
will seek to ban a book in which a former mistress of the disgraced former IMF chief describes him as “half man, half pig". The “biographical novel" by Marcela Iacub, a lawyer and journalist, recounts her seven-month affair with the 64-year-old Mr Strauss-Kahn last year. Belle et Bête, or Beauty and the Beast, is due to be published on Wednesday.

The Telegraph

Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa’s Tokyo establishment Narisawa took the top spot in the inaugural list of Asia’s 50 best restaurants – The World’s 50 Best Asia. Australian chef David Thompson’s Nahm in Bangkok came in third behind second-placed Nihonryori RyuGin of Tokyo. Amber in Hong Kong was fourth and Restaurant Andre in Singapore fifth.

Bloomberg

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Saudi Arabia has financed a large purchase of infantry weapons from Croatia and quietly funnelled them to anti-government fighters in Syria in a drive to break the bloody stalemate that has allowed President Bashar al-Assad to cling to power. The weapons began reaching rebels in December via shipments shuttled through Jordan, officials said, and have been a factor in the rebels’ small tactical gains this winter.